Maternity in the Setting Sun

I already posted my favorite maternity portrait from Cari's first photo shoot. But, here are some of the most interesting photographs from her second, Old West style maternity session. We had the most gorgeous orange light from the setting sun...

Sneak Peek: Maternity

Cari is a good friend, fellow artist and photographer, and expecting her first baby! We were both so filled with ideas for her maternity portraits that we actually did two photo shoots! This one had a very modern, urban vibe, as you can see. This is my favorite image from this shoot. But, the second shoot was an Old West style shoot in the gorgeous setting sun...stay tuned for a post with photos from that maternity session!

Handsome Boy

I called this little guy my "George Clooney Baby", mostly because of that smoldering look he's giving me in the above photograph! I hope someday soon he'll come back with his older brother for a sibling photo shoot.


There's always a little warming up period where the babies and I get to know each other a bit:




But finally we are able to loosen up and have a lot of fun:

Summer Babies

It seems my summer is destined to be filled with cute babies! But, that's to be expected when you do so many winter maternity portraits.

Isn't this little guy so cute? I brought along my vintage cameras and I think it his outfit was very well suited to the Vintage Childhood look.



He was still a little working on sitting up for long periods of time by himself so dad's hands are just out of the frame here, ready to catch him when he wobbles! Maybe some day I will post some of the hilarious outtakes.

Dennise

Early this summer, I got to work with another great young woman who wanted some portraits to give to her mom. We headed to Ballard on a sunny afternoon for some great youthful, modern, urban shots.

Thanks Dennise, I had a great time! Let's do it again in the winter in hats and mittens and scarves!

My Baby

After showing off so many of your adorable babies on this blog, I thought it was time I showed of my own adorable baby. This is my new kitten, Fergus. I have never had a cat in the studio before but he really took to modeling for me! Enjoy!

Darby and the Vintage Camera

I have been super busy with photo shoots and traveling so forgive me for not posting in a while. I do have lots of posts to catch up on but these were so cute I just couldn't resist posting them right away! I photographed Darby, a typically curious 4 year old, and she seemed to really like my vintage camera!



Could she be a future photographer in the making?



I wish she had actually taken a picture of me from that vantage point. Instead, I got this one (and many more!) of her:



We had a fun shoot, ran around a LOT, and I think she thinks I live in the park with her toy giraffe (a long story!). Here's your sneak peek Mom - more photos are on the way in about a week!

Oh, baby!

Hi Everyone,

I love all the babies and kids that I get to photograph. But, I have to say that this shoot was probably my favorite of the year so far! About a month ago, I photographed Emma in honor of her 6 month "birthday". I chose one of her photographs earlier for my Mother's Day posting but I had to share a few more photographs of this little girl and I am sure you can see why. Look at her beautiful eyes! I have a feeling she will grow up to be as pretty as her mom, one of my first Vintage Motherhood clients.

Best,
M

It's easy to make six month old babies smile:


But she did this praying pose all on her own!

Diana

Diana is about to become a big star on my website; she's going to get her own portfolio to show how much variety can come from one photo shoot. I love working with women by themselves, especially young women. Often, there are those beautiful years between when we last had our portrait done (senior pictures?!) and when we next have our portrait done (wedding) when we don't have any beautiful portraits made. Diana will always remember how she looked in Seattle, in her early twenties, because she'll have these images to cherish.

Soon-to-be Big Brother

Lots of my maternity clients bring an older child to their photo shoot. This little guy, Ian, was definitely in the squirming phase so we had to try and make things fun and interesting for him. We took lots of pictures of Mom, Ian, and the baby-to-be who turns out to be another little boy, Zack!



Thankfully, Grandmom came along for the shoot to keep Ian busy while mom and I took some maternity photos of just her alone. What can I say, I love a pregnant woman in jeans and a sweater!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone (and my mom, especially)!

I love this recent portrait I took of this little girl - holding on to her mom's hand for support and encouragement. It seemed so simple at the time - Emma wants to stand and she needs mom for balance!

But, looking at it now in the light of Mother's Day, I am getting a little emotional about what this image really signifies: all the times that mom is there to hold our hand, suppport us, teach us something new, comfort us, care for us, and to one day do one of the hardest jobs in motherhood...let us go!

Happy Mother's Day to all my M. Larson Photo Moms - all the moms-to-be and new moms I have photographed throughout the year.

Muse

Every artist needs a muse, and Emily is mine! Every time I photograph her, she looks beautiful, simple, real, genuine. Her serious looks are gorgeous but I love to make her laugh and catch her off guard too. We went out to a local Seattle park on a recent "sort-of-Spring" day and quickly came home with some gorgeous new portraits to add to both of our collections.

Every woman deserves to have her own portrait made and you don't really need an "occasion" to do it - although it is a good way to celebrate something! Emily has good news on the horizon and I think these photographs show her the happiest and most serene I've ever seen her.

p.s. A big THANKS to my great husband who went into the blog, did his code magic, and gave us all bigger pictures to look at! :)

Survey Winner!!!

A big "Thank You!" to everyone who took time to participate in the Spring 2008survey. I am one day late announcing our winner so I hope you'll forgive me - things have been very busy in the studio and the office!

Congratulations - Christine K. of Bellevue Washington!

Christine will receive a complimentary basic portrait session (worth $250) and a print credit as well. I think she will use it for photographs of her two little children so I'll be sure to post a couple images here once we do the photo shoot!

Thanks again to everyone who took time to answer the survey!
Best,
M. Larson

p.s. I decided to give everyone who participated in the survey a $25 print credit - check your email!

Red-Tri Favorites!

Hi Everyone,

Big news this week! I am very excited that M. Larson Photography is now listed as one of Red Tricycle's Favorites for Baby, Children and Maternity Photography in Seattle! I am so pleased because I love Red Tricycle's website and email newsletters but also because I am on the list with a lot of other great photographers. Here's a copy of the review they wrote about me, but you can also click here to go directly to my page.

Thanks for all your help in making me a Seattle Favorite!
Martha

p.s. Don't forget about my great referral program for existing clients - send a friend my way for a sitting and get $50 off of your next session fee!

New Camera!

Hi Everyone,

Well, it only took me three weeks to find the time but I finally took the brand new Nikon D300 camera out of the box and took it out for a little test drive. This is picture #0001. I put over 30,000 images on my last camera so I am sure this little guy (or gal?!)and I have a great future together.

M.

New for Mother's Day

Hi Everyone, brand new for Mother's Day (coming up May 11th!) I am introducing a new line of jewelry products that can be customized with your favorite image from our photo shoot. There is a special offer price for my existing customers only (hurry and you can become a new customer before the deadline!), just in time for the perfect Mother's Day present.

Call the studio for more information, or to place an order, but hurry - orders must be in by April 24th! Also, if you’d love to have some jewelry with your baby’s photo – I will arrange a special package and squeeze in a sitting in time for the big day!

Best,
M

New Business Cards

M. Larson Photo finally has brand new business cards! I wanted to create a series of cards that highlights the kind of photography I most love to do: maternity, kids (and babies too!), and women in all life stages. Below are three different cards, front and back pictures of each that show lots of images and highlight my vintage-inspired style as well. You can see all of these images larger on my website at M. Larson Photo. These themes will begin to appear soon on all of my printed materials including referral cards, gift certificates, and brochures - so let me know if you need any info to pass on to friends and family!

Vintage Motherhood Maternity Card:


Vintage Childhood Card:


Portraits Celebrating Women:

Playing with Texture

I love to play with textures. While making my new business cards, which I will post soon, I developed this shot of one of my favorite models. I like it - it's mysterious! She has kind of a modern Mona Lisa smile here. You can see her more classic portraits from our shoot back in February. I like to see the different styles you can create from the same shoot, even the same images. It's one of the trademarks of M. Larson Photography - pushing the boundaries of straight portraiture into the realm of art piece.

M. Larson

Take a Survey - Win a Sitting!

Hi Everyone,

I have developed a short survey for the questions that are most on my mind this Spring. I would like to know a little bit more about YOU; those who visit the M. Larson Photography website and blog!

Entrants can participate in the drawing and one lucky survey participant will receive a complimentary basic portrait session and a $25 print credit. You can use it for yourself or give it as a gift. That's a $275 value just for 10 little questions! If you want to be included in the drawing, you will need to enter your contact information at the end.

Click here to take survey

The survey will be open for the entire month of April and the winner will be announced on May 1 - check back here!

Best,
Martha
M. Larson Photography

Model Search - Babies!

Hi Everyone, M. Larson Photography is working on a new ad campaign and I am doing a search for model babies! (though, not necessarily crying ones :) )

Who I need:
Babies under 6 weeks of age for newborn photo shoots (and their moms, too!)

Babies around 6 months of age who can sit up by themselves but aren't too mobile yet!

If you are, have, or know someone who has a baby that just fits this profile, please reach out to me about being a baby model. I will use your images in my ad campaigns and on the M. Larson photo blog and website, etc. Models will be compensated with a free sitting and a credit towards portrait artwork.